Alexander Zverev admits he made the wrong decision after losing the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner.
The German started the 2025 season by reaching the final at Melbourne Park for the first time in his career.
But Zverev was convincingly beaten by Sinner, who successfully defended the Australian Open title.
The 27-year-old was distraught following the straight sets defeat and was consoled by the World number one during the trophy presentation.
Alexander Zverev then made a bold decision following the final, one he now thinks he should not have made.
Photo by Shi Tang/Getty ImagesAlexander Zverev says a made a mistake after the Australian Open final
Zverev reached his third Grand Slam final when he played Jannik Sinner for the Australian Open title in January.
As was the case at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open, Zverev once again fell short of achieving his dream.
He took the loss to Sinner very hard but rather than taking some time out or heading back to playing in Europe, he switched playing on hard courts to the clay courts in South America, a decision he now thinks was the wrong one.
Zverev, who failed to go beyond the quarter-finals in the three tournaments he played in South America, told reporters: “I have said very often that tennis is like any other sport and business.
“I didn’t make the decision to play in South America after the Australian Open; I made that decision six or seven months before.
“It wasn’t the smartest decision to play in South America a week after the Australian Open on a different surface. That’s clear to me.”
Photo by ALEXANDRA BEIER/AFP via Getty ImagesAlexander Zverev aiming for a strong run at the Munich Open
Zverev failed to make at least the semi-finals at any of the six events he has entered since the Australian Open.
The German is hoping to change at his home tournament of the Munich Open, where he is the top seed.
Zverev is aiming to win the tournament for a third time and he made a bright start to the tournament by defeating Alexandre Müller 6-4, 6-1.
In the next round, Zverev will face his fellow German Daniel Altmaier for a spot in the quarter-finals.